[Equip Spell, Butterfly Dagger - Elma Effect: The equipped monster gains 300 ATK. If this card is destroyed while equipped to a monster and sent to the Graveyard, it returns to its owner's hand.]
At first glance, it looked like a cheap and useless Equip Spell. New players encountering Yu-Gi-Oh! for the first time would never understand how such an ordinary card had earned an eternal place on the forbidden list. No one on site realized how serious the situation had become.
"I equip Butterfly Dagger - Elma to 'Gearfried the Iron Knight', increasing its ATK by 300," Yugen said. "But Gearfried has an effect. He cannot be equipped with any Equip Cards. When an Equip Card tries to equip to him, it is destroyed immediately. Therefore, Butterfly Dagger - Elma is destroyed."
Shuuichi stared in confusion. "?"
Destroying your own Equip Spell, what was the point of that?
"At that moment, Butterfly Dagger - Elma's second effect activates," Yugen continued. "When it is destroyed while equipped and sent to the Graveyard, it returns to its owner's hand. So I recover Butterfly Dagger - Elma from the Graveyard."
Shuuichi frowned. "Even so, that doesn't do anything."
"Of course it does," Yugen replied. "I still have 'Magical Beast Cerberus' on my field. As long as it remains, every time either player activates a Spell Card, it gains one Spell Counter. Its ATK increases by 500 for each Spell Counter it has."
[Magical Beast Cerberus, ATK 1400 → ATK 1900]
"Just five hundred ATK? That's nothing, un…" Shuichi Watanabe stopped mid-sentence.
He finally realized something was very wrong.
"Equip Butterfly Dagger - Elma to Gearfried again," Yugen said calmly. "Because of Gearfried's effect, it is destroyed again, then recovered by its own effect. Since another Spell Card was activated, Magical Beast Cerberus gains another 500 ATK."
[Magical Beast Cerberus, ATK 1900 → ATK 2400]
"Y-you…" Shuichi Watanabe began to tremble. The students watching, no matter how slow, finally understood what was happening.
This was an infinite loop. One of the earliest, simplest, and easiest infinite loops in Yu-Gi-Oh! history.
Butterfly Dagger equipped to Gearfried, destroyed by Gearfried's effect, then returned by its own effect. This allowed infinite activations of a Spell Card in a single turn. As a result, Magical Beast Cerberus's ATK could rise without limit.
Yugen repeated the motion again and again. The numbers climbed at a terrifying pace, far beyond anything a normal duel was meant to handle.
[Magical Beast Cerberus, ATK 12400]
Shuichi Watanabe looked like he was about to cry. He could hardly imagine how much damage an attack with that much ATK would cause. Around them, the spectators were completely numb, and even the host seemed frozen in shock.
[Magical Beast Cerberus, ATK 22400]
"Alright, that should be enough," Yugen said at last.
He could keep going, but endlessly repeating the process was tiring. The fact that his senior had not surrendered yet was impressive in its own way. To thank him for staying until the end, there was only one thing left to do.
"Magical Beast Cerberus, attack 'Hell Centipede'!"
[Hell Centipede, ATK 2600]
Shuichi Watanabe said nothing. A roar like it came from the depths of hell erupted, and the overwhelming impact tore straight through him.
[Shuichi Watanabe, LP 2600 → LP 0]
The field fell silent. All eyes were fixed on Yugen, as if everyone present had turned to stone.
Silence fell over the arena. Only after Shuichi Watanabe's Life Points hit zero and he was blasted onto his back did anyone realize how quiet it was. For a long moment, nobody spoke at all.
Even the host stood there with his mouth open, frozen and unsure what to say. The shock almost made him blurt out one of Professor Chronos de Medici's favorite catchphrases. He had seen talented freshmen defeat defending members during recruitment before, but never anything like this.
He had spent more than two years in the Duel Department and thought he had seen every kind of scene. Yet a Duel like this was completely outside his experience. It simply did not fit any example he knew.
"Uh, well…" A tall senior on the stands even stuttered for a moment. She was staring at the field in disbelief. In a single Duel, someone had shown both a suffocating Underworld-style lock that said you do not get to play Yugi Muto today, and a flashy loop that reached a theoretical pseudo-infinite ATK.
It was hard to imagine such wildly different styles appearing together in one duel, let alone on one person. How could there be a Duelist like this in the world? The idea felt unreal.
Even Manjoume stood up from his seat, his eyes fixed on Yugen on the stage without moving at all. He had always known that guy was shameless and strong, but even so, the direction of this Duel went far beyond his expectations. How could someone keep pulling out so many strange combos without running dry?
Watching Yugen duel felt a bit like watching a top student solve problems. Questions that left ordinary students stuck for hours were answered by him with a few casual strokes, turning confusion into clarity in moments. It made people want to crack open his head just to see what was different inside.
Of course, if Yugen heard that, he would only smile and say he was standing on the shoulders of giants. Even if the common belief was true, that dueling in this world was truth itself and locals had to work hundreds of times harder to find rules that card players from reality took for granted, the body of knowledge behind Yugi Muto was still massive. He could only do this because he was building on years of exploration and conclusions left by countless players.
Finding combinations in such a huge card pool was like searching for needles in the sea. Making cards interact in ways nobody had imagined before, creating tricks that either blinded you or amazed you, had always been part of the charm of Yu-Gi-Oh!. That charm was on full display here.
"Alright, congratulations, Yugen. You have passed the assessment."
In the end, it was the head of the Duel Department who spoke up. His voice cut cleanly through the noise. "That is enough, Shuuichi. Come back for now."
Seeing the department head's stiff expression, Shuuichi knew at once that his performance had not impressed him. Punishment was probably waiting later. He wanted to cry and say he had really done his best, but what were you supposed to do when the opponent felt inhuman?
Even after Yugen left the field, everyone's eyes kept drifting back to him. This was only a freshman who had just enrolled. At this rate, people were already joking that the head of the Duel Department might need to be replaced soon.
"…This is your club welcome gift."
The tall senior smiled as she placed a badge into Yugen's hand. It was the emblem of the Duel Department, cool and solid. She explained that new members received five extra credits and could choose one card for free from the selection.
As she spoke, she brought over a box and let him pick. Inside, rows of cards were neatly arranged. It seemed that students who went on stage earlier really did have the advantage, since the best cards would be taken first.
Yugen glanced through them and felt none stood out. Maybe because they were free, most of them felt underwhelming. Then his eyes paused on one card.
Meteor Black Dragon.